Eternal Paradigms

Re: Rightly Dividing

2010-12-23T16:39:00.001-08:00

2 Tim.2:15

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (NASB)

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (KJV)

COMMENT 1: Only the KJV get the word "Study" right.

You say the KJV is the only version that gets the word "study" right. The Greek word, in ALL manuscripts, is σπούδασον, which has the semantic range "be diligent, eager, or strive" In no Greek text does it mean "study" as in "academic engagement." The KJV translates the same word (same form) in 2Tim4:9 and 21 as "do thy diligence." Latin "studeo" means "devote oneself to", which is how KJV translators understood the word. The NASB rightly translates it "be diligent" for modern English speakers.

“Make every effort to come to me soon;” (ESV)

Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: (KJV)

Σπούδασον ἐλθεῖν πρός με ταχέως·” (Greek)

COMMENT 2: "Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth"

All versions translate τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας as "the word of truth." So the dispute is over the word ὀρθοτομέω.

Manuscripts: there are no variations in the manuscripts for this reading, so the dispute is over the translation.

Translations: ὀρθοτομέω
NASB – Accurately handling
ESV – Rightly handling.
KJV – Rightly dividing.

Observations: This word is a new textament hapax logomena, so interpretation is not easy.

Scholarly works: to teach correctly, to give accurate instruction.

Non-New Testament Uses: Septuagint translators of Proverbs 3:6 and 11:5 use this word to mean "Keep/make straight" in both cases referring to a road or pathway.

Relations:
ὀρθός – an adjective meaning straight.
ὀρθοποδέω – compound, "straight-foot", indicating consistency, or with prepositional tag πρός to progress towards.
τομός- sharp, also hapax logomena, used with superlative extension meaning "sharper".

Conclusion:

Derives from basic meaning of "straightness" especially in regard to spatial directional. The compound meaning seems to indicate "straight sharpen" or possibly by extension "straight cut". However, the meaning from semantic proximity is more likely "keep straight", indicating correctness and accuracy of the task.

Accurate translation:

Accurately teaching, or even making straight the word of truth. History of the word divide: means only "to separate" which is not the thrust of this word.

Implications for interpretation:

"If you rightly divide, there are divisions" is an anachronistic and crosses semantic wires. There is no emphasis on division, but rather on the straightness, the rightness, the accurateness. Saying that this verse means the gospels belong in the Old Testament is inaccurate.

COMMENT 3:

Christian Truth Hammer says: The gospels should be in the “Old Testament" because in them Christ has not yet died and shed his blood.

"Testament" means "covenant" not “division.” To say a person has to be dead before a new literary division occurs is wrong. By your argument, the old testament shouldn't exist either until halfway through Exodus or halfway through Genesis.

The gospels are in the New Testament because they are part of the Greek scriptures (a very clear division) and because they are the account of the implementation of the New Covenant, just like the Old Testament is the Hebrew Scriptures regarding the implementation of the Old Covenenant.

In regards to their date of composition, the books of the OT were written down after the implementation of the Old Covenant (either Abrahamic or Mosaic), the books of the New Testament were all written down after the implementation of the New Covenant.

COMMENT 4:

Christian Truth Hammer Says: Salvation in the Old Testament was accomplished by a system of "faith and works."

This is the most crucial error, and the one lie that the Devil loves above all: that you can and must do something to earn salvation.

When Jesus said "Keep the commandments" he was answering the question "what good deed shall I do?" He was not answering the question "how can I be saved?" Jesus gave the only answer available to those who wished to earn their salvation: perfectly fulfillment of the law.

Salvation in the Old Testament was by faith: but faith worked with deeds to show itself complete, just like in the new testament.

Romans 3:20 (KJV)

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

Romans 3:20 (ESV)

"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.^”

Romans 1:16-17 (ESV)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.

Romans 1:16-17 (KJV)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Romans 3:21-26 (NASB)

21 But now apartfrom the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those ¹who believe; for there is no distinction;

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:21-26 (KJV)

²¹But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; ²² Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: ²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; ²⁴ Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: ²⁵ Whom God hath set forth^c to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; ²⁶ To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Limited or Unlimited Atonement? Or...

2009-05-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write a post, and possibly more than one, about my understanding of the atonement. Most of my fellow Calvinists ask me why I call myself a 4.5 point Calvinist. Most of my consciously Arminian friends wonder what I mean when I say I believe Jesus died for every single person in the whole world, but I do not agree with their position on the atonement. How can there possibly be a middle ground? Did Jesus die for everyone or didn't he?

The problem in my mind is twofold: 1) There is a problem with the question "limited or unlimited?" 2) There is a misunderstanding of the efficacy of the atonement

1. When the atonement is presented to theological students it is usually presented as either limited or unlimited. Infinite or finite. Positive or negative. Jesus Christ either payed for everyone or he only paid for some people. However, this is a misuse of the law of the excluded middle. Because we are not dealing in mathematical terms, but instead abstract, we should be cautious about making these kind of black and white boundaries.

I believe that the Bible very clearly teaches both that Jesus died for the entire world (to say the "world" is limited to only the church out of every nation is an unjustified stretch of scripture) and that God predestined some to grace and some to wrath (meaning he chose those who would be saved). At first this may seem inconsistent: If Jesus paid for the whole world's sin, doesn't this mean everyone is saved? You are correct. Everyone is saved according to this model. But we also know that the Bible teaches that everyone is not saved. So we have a quandary, and thus is birthed "limited atonement." In fact, when I first heard of limited atonement it was called "the logical next step from the biblical truth." In other words, the truth taught in scripture (i.e. the first four points of Calvinism) logically implied this truth (limited atonement) even though it wasn't in the Bible. Now, I am content with logical implications from scripture, but not when they contradict other parts of scripture. And that is exactly the case with limited atonement. So does the Bible then contradict itself?

The answer to this conundrum is not in scripture twisting or contenting oneself with the "illogical truths of God." No, rather it is in definition. "Atonement" what does it imply? What is its nature? It is this question that creates the conundrum above, not the truths themselves. And that leads us to:

2. Theologians misunderstand the nature of atonement, and also its extent. Most Calvinists assume that the very second Jesus died on the cross, every individual sin which Christ bore on the cross was legally paid for. God could no longer require any payment from anyone for whom Christ died. Therefore they also assume that since God still requires payment from the unbelieving he must not have died for them. Problem: Bible teaches he died for all.

On the other hand, Arminians often assume that Jesus died for every single sin in the whole world... except unbelief. Thus on judgment day the only sin that will be punished is the unforgivable sin: unbelief. Problem: Bible teaches that everyone will be judged according to their deeds, and thus some more harshly.

Solution: When Jesus died for sin, when he atoned for the world, nobody's sins were forgiven. Now, I have to say it that way to catch your attention. Think of it this way, Jesus made an offering for sin on the cross, but he did not then and there cancel individual sins. And that is the slight descepancy on which this whole issue hangs, in my opinion.

And I blieve this is acurate according to the Bible. The Word is very clear that forgiveness, atonement, only occurs after belief, or faith. So, although Jesus' death on the cross was sufficient and complete to pay every sin in the whole world, it is only accessed or applied to those who have faith. That is why Paul says "by grace through faith." Faith did not save us, faith gave us access to salvation.

Think of one short illustration. Limited atonement says that everyone in the world owed God $1. God predestined his church to have their debt paid. Jesus then went and procured $1,000,000 and deposited $1 into the accounts of each believer. Thus the 1,000,000 believers were paid for and the others lost. Arminians believe that Jesus got $6.5 billion dollars and deposited $1 into everyone's bank account. However, if these people do not thank Jesus, they are thrown in the "ingrate's cell." My view however, is that Jesus procured an infinite amount of money and placed it into an account. He then went into the world and said "Come and have your debts forgiven!" No body listened to him, so he and his buddies went out and grabbed a selected amount of people and brought them to the bank and paid their debts.

This is a start, it is incomplete, but I am out of time. Please leave your questions and point out inconsistancies so I cant fine tune my beleifs and my descriptions of them.

A RELATIONSHIP OF TRUST - Psalm 16

2009-05-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

From a sermon preached at Grace Bible Church on May 3, 2009 by Joshua Smolders.

Thesis: Trusting in God means being confident that we are fully secure in our relationship with him.

Outline:

Introduction: Circumstances will drive us to trust God.

I. Trusting God means acknowledging who he is.

II. Trusting God means actively valuing him.

III. Trusting God means securing our ultimate hope is in our union with him.

Application.

Conclusion: Trusting as Christ did.

Context:
The Psalms are a beautiful part of scripture: because of their poetic nature; because of their vivid images and metaphors; because of their literary structures.

But they are beautiful for another and more important reason. Of all the parts of scripture, the psalms identify the closest with the human soul. They express the deep emotions that you and I can relate to: love, joy, fear, anxiety.

You know, sometimes when I read other parts of scripture I find myself saying “I believe this is true, but I have no clue how I am supposed to feel it is true.” For example, 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says “Rejoice always.” Oh great! I might be able to follow that if it read “rejoice daily.” Or better yet “rejoice biweekly.” Just ask my parents. For the past two weeks I have been unsuccessfully trying to find a job here, a job in Vancouver, a place to stay in Burnaby, and help my stressed out fiancé with wedding plans. In my circumstances I find it hard to “rejoice always.”

Yet I know and believe that scripture is the inspired Word of God, and that God would never leave us with an impossible command. Passages like 1 Thessalonians 5:16 are in scripture for a reason; and we know that a person who is walking in the full freedom of the truth can follow these commands with their whole heart. Yet I think many of you would agree with me that the heart follows slowly after our heads.

So how do we get there? How do we reconcile our emotions with the commands of scripture? How do we bring our feelings under the sway of the truth? Well, that is largely what the Psalms are for. You see the psalms take us from our first response, our raw emotions, and then lead us into the light of the truth in order to transform our emotions. You might say that the psalms act as a bridge from earth to heaven. Our circumstances or the state of this world cause us to feel a certain way: anxiety, restlessness, sorrow, fear. Heaven calls us to a better reality: peace, rest, joy, trust. The psalms meet us in our fears and sorrows, take us by the hand, and lead us into the presence of the Lord.

This morning I would like to lead you through Psalm 16. This Psalm meets us in our worry and fear about our security and teaches us how to trust in God. So, please turn with me to Psalm number 16.

As I said, this is a Psalm about what it means to put our trust in God. It was written by David, presumably when he was facing some difficulty. Although the specific circumstances that inspired him to write it are not known, it is clear from the content that David was afraid for his life and his possessions. And we know from reading in 1st and 2nd Samuel that David’s life was filled with danger.

So, David wants us to learn from his example what it means to fully trust God. And his main point is this:

Trusting God means valuing and being secure in our relationship with God.

Preserve me, Oh God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord,” You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your Holy One see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Introduction: Circumstances must drive us toward God. (v.1)
Preserve me, Oh God, for in you I take refuge.

David begins with this plea to God: “preserve me!” Obviously he is distraught, he is full of anxiety, because he is in danger. He is saying “Protect me! Cause I am gonna die!” This is the starting point, the raw emotion we are dealing with. I am sure that most of you have felt this same sense of desperation and fear, whether your life was threatened, or your finances, or your health, or your children.

He then gives the basis of his plea: “for in you I take refuge.” In David’s trouble he has only one place to go. He has no great fortress to hide in (and perhaps he wrote this when he lived in the wilderness). He has no store of arms or legions of men to call upon. He has no trust funds to fall back on. Here he is saying to God “You have gotta help me, because you are my fortress.” Not one of my fortresses, but the only place I look to for help.

And that leads me to my introductory point: Before we can understand what it means to trust God, we have allow our circumstances to drive us toward trusting him.
I am not sure what all of you are facing in life, but hear this: you will only learn what it means to trust God if you are willing to turn solely to God when you face those circumstances. David would not have learned trust by fleeing to a fortress, or by trusting in an army. He would only learn trust by taking his raw emotion, his fear, going to God and saying “I look to you and no other, teach me to trust!”

So I would ask you:
Are you willing to learn what it means to trust God, or do you want to have your security apart from God?

Well this leads us nicely into the first point, which is:

I. Trusting God means acknowledging who he is. (v.2-4)
I say to the Lord,” You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.

Notice how David begins by telling himself exactly who God is: I say to the Lord you are my Lord. His wording here shows that he is both acknowledging God for who he says he is, and taking ownership of that reality. He says, you are “Lord,” exactly who you say you are. But more than this, you are my Lord, meaning this directly affect my life. He then says “apart from You I have no good”, meaning nothing of value.

I get take two things from this part of our text:

1. First of all, trusting God means acknowledging that he is who he says he is, and then taking ownership of that in our lives. If God says he is good, then we need to trusting him means acting as if he is! God says he is merciful, forgiving, and loving… then we must live it. God’s character traits should not be nominal or irrelevant to us.

For example, some people acknowledge the character of God as a fact that has no bearing on their life: Its like if I were to say “George Brown from Manchester is a generous man!” and you were all to say “Amen!” You can all agree because it doesn’t affect you. You don’t even know who George is!

But if I were to say “your father is a generous man.” Then you would have to think about it. Perhaps you think your father is an angry man, and so you would never want to ask him for anything. Or perhaps you think he is apathetic, that he doesn’t care about you, and so you would never ask him for help. But if he truly is a generous man, then you need to treat him like a generous man.

If trusting God means acknowledging who he is, then we have to live out who he says he is! In this text, David acknowledges God as the LORD! And wrapped up in that name “Lord” are all his attributes. As Exodus declares:
“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”
Do your actions reveal that you believe God is who he says he is?
I know mine often do not. God says he is satisfying, I treat him like he is a burden. God says he is compassionate, but I act like he is a man with a nightstick ready to beat me for my sins. Trusting God means acknowledging that he is who he says he is.

2. The second under the first point is that trusting God means acknowledging that he is ultimately the only “good thing” we have. Allow me to make this statement: apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ, a person can have no good thing.

Now, you may say to me: “well, can’t people have good marriages, good jobs, good food, and still be non-Christian? And haven’t non-Christians received good things?” Yes, depending on your definition of the term “good.” You see, here David begins to draw us into that changed mindset that I mentioned before: he is not saying that he could never experience any good without God, but rather that any experience of good without God is useless. He is acknowledging that his relationship with God is the single most important thing in his life, and that apart from that nothing matters! Acknowledging who God is means acknowledging his supreme value.

Immediately after this David compares two groups of people: those who acknowledge God for who he is, and those who don’t - saints and idolaters.

As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.

His use of the term “saints in the land” simply means the faithful people of Israel. David delights in these people. They are the “morally excellent” people. They are ones who treat a relationship with God as their ultimate treasure.

He then contrasts these people (and himself) with those who seek refuge in other gods. Notice how he says that they “run after” these gods. These people were pursuing the help of idols. In the ancient near east, they did this through their grotesque religious rituals. David here commits that he will not pursue these gods, and he will not call on their names for help.

Now, in order to understand exactly what David was saying in this, you need to get into the mindset of the ancient world regarding idols. Like most people today, people in the ancient near east wanted security and prosperity. They wanted their crops to grow. They wanted their fathers, husbands, and sons to come back alive from the war. And they believed that their idols would accomplish these goals. For example, they believed that Baal was god of the rainstorm, and so they would worship him to get good crops. If he did not give them good crops they would worship harder, or they would try another god. Whatever worked, they worshiped. And unfortunately for the people of God, when they came into the promised-land and began living there, they adopted this mindset to some extent. Thus, in the minds of many people, then, Yahweh was thought of as “just another God.” He was a means to an end. If worshiping Yahweh did not get them good crops and success on the battlefield, they turned to Baal.

But David’s trust in God was not a means to an end. That is why he could truly say that he will not turn to other gods. Although he was looking for help (by saying “preserve me!”), although he started at the same point as those other people, desiring safety and prosperity. Nevertheless, his trust in God meant that no matter what happened, HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD WAS ULTIMATELY THE ONLY GOOD HE HAD. David did not trust God because God guaranteed to get him something, BUT BECAUSE GOD GUARANTEED TO BE HIMSELF.

So, trusting God means acknowledging who he is: he is who he says he is, and he is of supreme value.

This ties in nicely with the next section, verses 5-8, and my second point:
II. Trusting God means actively valuing him. (v.5-8)
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

None of us begins with a proper view of God. It takes work, hard work, to cultivate a mind and heart that acknowledges God for who he is. But in this section of the psalm we see how David labors to transform his own thinking:

He begins by using a metaphor. God is his inheritance, the plot of land allotted to him. Now how many of you have ever thought of God as a piece of land? You know, there’s a ton of development going on in this little town, has it ever caused you to pray “Lord, you are my half-million dollar seaside property!” Unlikely.

But David used this imagery for a reason. When Israel came into the promised-land, it was called their inheritance, and each of the tribes got a piece of land to build and prosper on. By using this imagery, David is seeking to reorient his values. God was his true inheritance, not his plot of grass in Palestine. He could have cared less about his property deed, or his vehicles, or his pension! God was his real investment in this world! But he had to train himself to think that way.

This is the type of mindset I mean by actively valuing God. It’s a mindset that says “my relationship with God is the only important thing in my life. It does not matter what I have and do not have, as long as I have him.” God is our inheritance. That is why 1 Peter 1:3-4 says “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” Our face-to-face relationship with Jesus Christ is waiting for us, no matter what happens to our earthly possessions.

Notice how David goes on to show how he pursues this mindset. He heeds the counsel of God. He talks to himself about God’s worth when he is in the dark of night. He puts God’s priorities and God’s wisdom as his front-guard and his right hand man.

If we are going to trust God, we need to cultivate this mindset as well. When hard times come, or even when prosperous time come, we need to be telling ourselves, teaching ourselves, that our relationship with God is what truly matters. You know, God really broke me with this truth in the past year. When I did my pastoral internship, God really revealed to me how I was willing to give up my relationship with him for the security I wanted. I was more concerned with having what I valued, “success”, than having what God valued, “our relationship.”

The past two weeks have challenged me with this again. I have treated a job, and financial security, as more important than my relationship with God, and I have allowed it to take over. God convicted me that when I was praying to him, I was praying in order to get what I wanted: a job. I was not praying to build our relationship. So the challenge for me has been to actively value God: to teach myself that my happiness in God is more important than my financial situation!
We come now to the third and final part of the psalm:

III. Trusting God means securing our ultimate hope in our union with him. (v.9-11)
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your Holy One see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Well, David is now across the bridge. He has turned from his desperation to gladness and contentment. Even his body is at ease, though still in mortal danger.

Just as a side note, do you ever notice that your body tells you a lot about what you are truly felling. Someone asks, “are you anxious?” And you say “no, I trust that God will provide.” But your stomach is twisting, or you pace around the room, or you need some chocolate or something. Unfortunately for me I experience all these things, especially the latter.

Anyways, all that to say, David in heart mind and body is now truly resting, truly trusting in God. How can he do this? Because no matter what happens to him, he has secured his hope in the fact that his relationship with God is secure forever! Though he die and go to the grave, he will be raised again to live with God.

When he says “You will not abandon my soul in Sheol” he is talking about the “grave.” Sheol simply means “grave” signifying death. David knows that even death cannot keep him from his relationship with God.

Furthermore, he is confident that his reunion with God is the ultimate joy and pleasure! Is he worried about losing his home? To dwell in the courts of God for a moment is better than a thousand days in any other house! Is he worried about losing the love of his family? To enter into communion with God is to be washed in love for eternity! Is he worried about losing his money, his possessions? What could he possibly buy that would satisfy him more than being with God? Trusting God means setting our ultimate hope in our reunion with God one day and nothing else.

Application:
So, we have come full circle, from anxiety to complete trust. And David has shown us that:

Trusting God means valuing and being secure in our relationship with God.

This truth has some serious implications and applications for us, and some of them may seem quite backwards. But as one of my professors often says “we live in the upside-down kingdom.” I want to propose two applications, but feel free to think up your own:

1. Trusting God does not mean trusting that everything will work out. So do not turn to other gods if they do not.
The truth is, God can and may rightfully let your worries come true. You may die. You may get sick. You may go bankrupt. Just look at Job. He trusted and he lost everything. Jim Elliot trusted in God and he died without ever seeing the fruit of his labor. And I am sure there are many Christians who have gone hungry, poor and naked and still trusted God. That is because instead of trusting that everything will work out, they trusted in the one who was working everything out. And in their relationship with him they were content.

So, if God would have you endure some suffering in this life, do not turn to other things to try to numb the pain or fix the problem. Now, I’m not saying do not go for treatment for your illness, or don’t try to seek help for your crumbling marriage. But do not treat these things as your salvation. First things first, cultivate contentment in your relationship with God. Then you will be able to say “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

2. Trusting God means that our prayer life should focus mainly on our relationship with God, not on our needs.
You have probably heard someone talk about treating God like a vending machine. Just going to him, plugging in a prayer coin, and hoping to get what we asked for. Some of us, myself included, treat God like an accountant. We go to him with a suitcase full of confusing situations, hand it over and say “work this out please.” Then we walk away. Well that doesn’t cut the cheese either. Trusting God means focusing on what he says is important: our relationship with him. That means spending time worshipping him, expressing your love for him, listening to him. Is your prayer life focused on a relationship with God?

Well, if you see any other practical applications for this truth I encourage you to share it with each other after the service.

Conclusion: Trusting as Christ did.
I want to finish off the message this morning by pointing your attention to one important aspect of this Psalm. It is a messianic Psalm, which means that it predicts something about the life of Christ. In Acts 2:25-28, Peter quotes verses 8-11 to show how God promised that he would not leave Christ in the grave, but would raise him to life and that he would ascend to the father’s side.

1. I want to encourage you with this truth by saying first, that Jesus is the ultimate example of what it means to trust God. No one valued and was more secure in his relationship with God than Jesus. That is why the scriptures say “for the joy set before him, he endured the cross.” So read of his life in the gospels and follow his example.

2. But I also want to say that if you doubt in any way that you should trust God for who he says he is, if you doubt that he is as valuable as he says and that you should fight for that understanding, or if you doubt that you truly do have a hope beyond this life, and that hope is a face to face relationship with God himself. If you doubt, let me assure you that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the proof, the guarantee, that it will be worth it all in the end.

He trusted God, and God did exactly what he said he would: he raised him from the dead to eternal happiness in his relationship with God. And as Paul says in 1 Corinthians “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. But each on in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at his coming.”

If you trust God like Christ did, like David did, like Jim Elliot did, you too will be able to rest in your relationship with Christ.

The Vision of a Dying World

2008-07-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

A Hymn by Henry S, Cutler 1872. I think the words of this hymn stand out powerfully when arranged in poetic verse and spoken instead of sung:

The vision of a dying world
Is vast before our eyes;
We feel the heartbeat of its need,
We hear its feeble cries:
The savage hugs his god of stone
And fears descent of night;
The city dweller cringes 'lone
Amid the garish light.
Today as understanding's bounds
Are stretched on every hand,
O clothe thy Word in bright new sounds,
And speed it o'er the land.
The warning bell of judgment tolls,
Above us looms the cross;
Around are ever dying souls---
How great, how great, the loss...

Lord Jesus Christ revive thy church,
In this, her crucial hour.
Lord Jesus Christ awake thy church,
With Spirit-given power.

A Comparison and Evaluation of Two Views on Our Relationship with God

2008-07-02T11:48:00.001-07:00

FROM THE SHACK BY WILLIAM YOUNG AND JOHN MACARTHUR'S SERMON ON DOULOS AT WILLINGDON CHURCH, JUNE 20th 2008.

These past few weeks I have found myself thrown into a flurry of contrasting winds of doctrine. It all began with the sermon below, on 1 John 2:28-3:10. I had the subject of our spiritual identity on my mind, my sermon falling on Father's day and also the needs of the congregation calling for it. I wanted to explore the interaction between identity, behavior, and relationship with God. Since the book of 1 John was written for the assurance of the saints and as a test against false conversion, it seemed like a good book to start. What I found in John's argument was that the believer has been given a new external relationship of fellowship with God, and a new internal identity of sonship with God, and thereby the believers actions will begin to conform to who he now is. In short, we are God's children (literally) walking in the light, and righteous behavior should and shall flow from that.

SLAVES OF GOD

The Friday after I preached this sermon I went to see John MacArthur preach at Willingdon Church, Vancouver. He spoke on John 15:14-15, and talked mainly about the word doulos which is translated in this verse as "servant." His argument went thus: the word doulos has only ever meant, will only ever mean, and has never been translated "slave." The reason that it is so commonly translated "servant" is because we are afraid of the stigma of "slave" or we consider the implication of the relationship too harsh. A slave has no property, no rights, no freedom, no right to defend himself in court, and even no right to live if his master chooses. He is the slave, and his Lord is his sovereign. "Servant" however, gives room for some sense of volition, or some sense of dignity to the position. Some even made a composite word to remove the stigma while retaining the meaning, and thus some versions translate "bondservant." He rebuttled the arguments against the stigma of cotton fields and suger plantations by saying that the Greek's of John's day had their own equally as horrendous stigma attached to their word doulos.

MacArthur argued that this comes from the contemporary gospel where we treat Christ as our servant, where he is our personal savior who helps us in our troubles. On the contrary, he argued, we should see our relationship to Christ as being "slave-Lord." We can sum up the gospel in three words "Jesus is Lord." This is reflected throughout the whole New Testament where Paul constantly identifies himself as literally the "slave of the Lord." And where in Revelation God continually refers to his suffering saints as his "slaves." The simple multiplicity of the terms slave and Lord in the bible shows the importance of this relationship.

At the wrap up of his sermon MacArthur showed how John 15:15 showed us our relationship as friends as well. Slaves never knew why their master commanded certain things of them. They had no knowledge of their master but that they must simply obey him. But God now calls us friends, for though he is our Lord he cares enough about us to let us know him and the why behind his commands. Therefore, he concluded, our primary relationship with Chris is the slave-master relationship, which is worked out as it was meant to be in joy and love and friendship with our Lord. All other relationships, he said, included how we are children of God, sheep of God, vines on the branch, are secondary and metaphorical.

CIRCLE OF RELATIONSHIP

About a week after I heard MacArthur speak I picked up the seemingly new evangelical Bible, The Shack, to see what all the craze was about. In a complete reversal of MacArthur's view of our relationship of God, William Young expounded on the idea that God is inviting us into a life of family or peer relationship with God. Although all the issues covered in The Shack are too numerous to touch on right now, and since they have been better covered by numerous critics and advocates, I will simply focus on the aspect of our relationship with God.

In the story Mack Phillips meets the trinity in a shack where his young daughter was murdered years before and begins the process of healing and learning how to live in relationships. The book is well written and contains thrilling plot line, captivating descriptiveness, and also a multitude of modern Socratic dialogue. God appears as three people: Papa, a black woman representing the Father (or Mother in this case), Jesus (who is everything we would expect him to be), and Sarayu, an Asian woman (who seems to be made of movement and air and light).

Mack learns from God how the Circle of relationship is to work. God designed people to love and receive love in community, even as God himself/herself has done in the trinity. The Father, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus are constantly submitting to one another, constantly loving one another in the community of theirself. God designed human relationships to reflect that, and he also desired humans to join his/her circle of relationship. The reason why humans have broken from this circle of relationship with God and with others is because they have asserted their independence, and when one is independent there is no one to love and thus there is no love. Throughout the story there is a strong emphasis that structures of authority (whether political or religious institutions, or even authority between husband and wife) is the result of human independence
and by no means pleases God. God does not desire any relationship of authority to exist, but rather that all people would be on equal plain in the circle of relationship.

There is a strong emphasis on the tenderness of God, his motherhood over people. Throughout the book God refers to all people as his children, and there are subtle and ambiguous hints of universalism (where all people are ultimately delivered from hell). For example, when Mack is judging God in court he is asked to send choose two of his children to go to heaven and have the other three be condemned to hell. He can't handle the choice and offers himself in their stead. God commends him for that and tells how he has died for the sins of all people, and now they merely choose to opt out of relationship with him. Now God is doing everything he/she can to draw those people into relationship with him/her. That is partially why God appears as a female to Mack, because he is more receptive to a relationship of motherhood than fatherhood.

There is also a strong emphasis on being before doing. God wants people to be in a relationship with him, not do rules.

THE COMPARISON

These two views represent opposites in my mind. For example MacArthur exalts the position of authority. It is the ultimate relationship that exists. God has authority over his slaves. Young, however, demeans authority as a biproduct of the fall. Ideally, for him, there should be no authority.

On another note, MacArthur sees those who submit to Christ as being his slaves who have the privilege to be called friends and to serve him unprofitably. Young sees everyone as children of God, in need of healing and restoration of relationship, whom God pursues and serves.

Look for yourself. Its not hard to see the frequent polars between these two sources.

THE EVALUATION

So, why did I bother writing this post? Because I believe both MacArthur and Young are imbalanced, and therefore incorrect. This conclusion has sprung from my studies in John, and also from a third source: a sermon on the Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern world by Voddie Baucham.

MacArthur presents a valid and necessary perspective on our relationship with God as Christians. It is true that most people do not see Christ as their Lord and themselves as his slaves. They do not understand nor act upon this aspect of their relationship with God, even though it is so abundantly done so in the New Testament. Yet MacArthur goes too far. First, in his stringent demand that the word doulos be translated "slave," he dismisses the true effort of godly men to remove the stigma of negro oppression (which is valid, since that abuse was condemned on biblical principles) and retain the meaning by coining the word "bondservent." The important thing is not the word, it is the meaning and its application. We need to see ourselves as having no rights, no property, and no freedoms before our holy master. However, this does not mean that we need to morbidly pursue a negative stigma.

Secondly, MacArthur goes too far in designating the slave-master model as the primary relationship between believers and God. If this were so, you think you would find some mention of that in the book of 1 John. On the contrary, while John does commend and recommend obedience, he does so on the basis of our new relationship fellowship and our new identity as children. John emphasizes that our primary relationship to God, as I believe Paul also does in the concept of the new man/old man, is that we have a complete and total reverse in spiritual orientation and are now called sons of God. MacArthur commits ad populum when he argues that our primary relationship is doulos because that word appears 125 times. Who cares! The word kai is the most common word in the NT, but that bear no theological significance! What John needs to present is a clear verse or chapter that argues that slave-master takes priority over all other biblical descriptions of our relationship to God.

On the other hand, William Young presents a relavent view of a tender and loving God who desires a personal relationship with his children. However he does not treat this relationship accurately either. He enters the other extreme and presents a view of God that does not include authority or justice or wrath. First, Young arbitrarily (and forgive my deconstruction) sets up a value system between Authority and relationship. Where in the world does he come up with the idea that authority is so bad, and that God hates it? The Bible is clear that even within the perfect and mysterious relationship of the trinity there is submission, where Christ works only on the authority of God, and where the Spirit comes to finish the work of Christ on the earth. And who is to say that a relationship of authority is not as good as or even is better than a relationship of equality. Can not love be perfectly present in both types? Young too easily dismisses the biblical images of headship, Lordship, and authority and unfortunately paints them black (if you will allow my arbitrary distinction between the moral values of the extreme shades... joke!).

Secondly, Young presents a picture of our spiritual childhood in a diluted fashion. The power of our new relationship with God in sonship is found in its contrast with out old relationship. Young makes no mention of this. He leaves no room for there to be enemies of God, no room for children of the Devil, no room for hostility toward God. The world, through his paradigm, is a bunch of fundamentally good children of God who need to be coaxed back from their assertion of independence over their relationship with God.

CONCLUSION

Only a balanced view will do, as I hope you are starting to see. God created all people as the crowing glory of his work, therefore we have dignity and we have the privilege of a relationship with God. However, since he is also Lord and master, and since we violated his authority, we have become enemies and children of the Devil. Only through atonement and a spiritual re-orientation can we be restored into a proper relationship with God. And that relation is this: we are his children, we are his slaves, he is our Father, he is our Lord. There is both intimacy and authority, personal relationship and structural position. This is the best model, for in it we have everything we need as humans: family and government. Love and truth. Trust and obedience. Amen.

Extended Background Information for Sermon on 1 John

2008-06-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

Well let's look at the context of our passage. This book was written by the apostle John to the various churches in the ancient world in response to some of the philosophical and theological ideas that were arising under the influence of false teachers. The first section of the book deals with those false teachings which claimed that people could be sinless, the second with those who claimed that their sin did not matter. We will be looking at the beginning of the second section.

However, John's purpose was also to assure those believers to whom he was writing to that they had eternal life. Look at John 5:10-13:

"He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."

This is very important to remember, because if 1 John 3 is read on its own, without the context of assurance, and without the context of a group of believers who have been forgiven their sins (1 John 1:8-10 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.") then it can be easily misinterpreted.

As I said before, our section of text is at the beginning of John's second section. His first cycle, from 1:5-2:27, focused on the relationship of our fellowship with God and walking in the light. Darkness can have no fellowship with light, sin can have no fellowship with righteousness, our love reveals whether we love the darkness or the light, our beliefs regarding the truth of Christ reveal whether we have fellowship with Christ or the antichrists.

To sum up his argument, John has said that believers have a radical new external relationship with God; they have fellowship with the light. And because of this new relationship with the light, they ought not to fellowship with the darkness, especially by loving the things of the world or by following false teachers. John uses the term "abide" to designate this continuation in fellowship. Furthermore, if some do follow after false teachers, or neglect to love the brethren, or continue loving the things of the world, it is evidence that they do not abide in the light.

And with this background we come to chapter two verse 28:

"28 Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him."

Sermon on 1 John 2:28-3:10

2008-06-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

INTRODUCTION

Who are you? Has anyone ever asked you that question? I'm sure someone has. And what has been your response? I know I have said, "My name is Josh" or "I am a student at PRBI" or maybe "Oh, I'm Julius' second son." But does that really answer the question?

Who are you? What is your identity? And why do you do what you do? This is one of the greatest questions ever tabled by mankind. Philosophers have toiled endlessly over it. Naturalists say, "I am an organic machine, my function is to consume and enjoy whatever I can while I live." Behaviorists would say, "I am a complex web of reactions to my environment, and therefore everything I do is inevitable." Pantheists would say, "I am nothing, this world is only a dream which I must pass through."

Who are you? This question doesn't just plague philosophers, it affects everyone from the richest to the poorest, from the oldest to the youngest. How many of those in high school struggle with their identity? How many people in university literally go crazy because of the messed up philosophies they believe about who they ultimately are. And how many street people revolve through endless cycles of relief programs because of who they think they are? Everyone asks "who am I?"

Probably the greatest failing in the Christian church today is that we do not realize who we are.

This morning I would like to show you who God says you are, and then I would like to show you how that affects how you live. Turn with me to 1 John 2:28-3:10

"28 ¶ And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

1 ¶ Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

4 ¶ Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."

CONTEXT

Well, it is always dangerous to preach from the middle of an epistle, because it is possible to misinterpret the message of the whole book. So, allow me to sum up what the author, the apostle John, has said in the past chapters. John has been writing both to refute some false teaching arising in the church and to assure true believers of their salvation. He has said that believers have a radical new external relationship with God; they have fellowship with the light. And because of this new relationship with the light, they ought not to fellowship with the darkness, especially by loving the things of the world or by following false teachers. John uses the term "abide" to designate this continuation in fellowship. Furthermore, if some do follow after false teachers, or neglect to love the brethren, or continue loving the things of the world, John says it is evidence that they do not abide in the light. So, the believer's relationship of fellowship results in their abiding in Christ.

And with this background we come to chapter two verse 28:

PRECEDING ARGUMENT

At the beginning of our text John makes the transition from the previous section on the believer's new external relationship to their new internal relationship. He starts with an exhortation for his readers to remain in fellowship with God (to abide), thus concluding his last section, but also introducing the next section, for as we will see, abiding in God is the result of our identity as being born of God and not vice versa.

Here John exhorts the believers to abide in Christ for the express purpose of having the assurance of salvation when he appears. The believer who lives a carnal life, or who neglects his own training in righteousness has reason to feel shame when Christ comes because he does not have confidence in his own fellowship with Christ.

Why is this? Because, John says, we know that Christ is righteous, and therefore those who are like Christ are born of God. This born of God is our key term, because it is the new internal relationship with God that John introduces. And it is tied inseparably to the concept of righteousness. In this section that we will expound on the relationship between being born of God and practicing righteousness.

So, let's follow John and his argument in this passage. The first truth we can draw is that:

I. AS BELIEVERS IN CHRIST, WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD.

1 ¶ Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him."

Who are we brothers and sisters? We are the children of God. I think the full impact of these words is lost on our ears. I know, for myself, I do not fully appreciate this truth nor fully understand it. But let me share what I have found about this truth:

1. First, there are only two spiritual orientations in this world.

The apostle John likes to look at the world in absolutes. Throughout the whole book he draws stark lines, and makes bold contrasts: Light is contrasted with dark, truth with lies, abiding with departing, righteousness with sin, and the children of God with the children of the Devil. There are absolutely no shades for grey for John. If you do a deed in John's world, it is either righteous or sinful. You either dwell in the darkness or dwell in the light. There is no middle ground.

And John is right. Though we see shades of grey in this world, there is in spiritual reality no shades of grey. You see in this world there are only two kingdoms, the kingdom of truth and the kingdom of lies. If you do not believe the truth about something, then you are believing a lie about it; Christ is the way the truth and the life, the Devil is the father of lies. And in this world there are only two families, the children of God and the children of the Devil. (Though it is true that in one sense, all humanity are the children of God in that they are his special creation made in his image. But John is here referring to our spiritual orientation).

Those who are of the Devil are his children. In John 8:44 Jesus accused the Pharisees by saying "you are of your father the Devil, and the desires of your Father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." Those who are the children of the Devil sin like he does, because "The Child exhibits the parent's character because he shares in the parent's nature." They believe lies, they practice sin, they live in spiritual darkness and are separated from fellowship with God.

But those who are children of God are holy like he is because "The Child exhibits the parent's character because he shares in the parent's nature." They believe the truth, they practice righteousness, and they walk in the light and have a relationship of peace with God. John is illustrating two completely opposite spiritual orientations which produce two completely opposite characteristics. Everyone in this world belongs to one of these two families.

2. Second, our spiritual orientation was been bestowed on us freely by God.

What John is indicating here is that believers, those who have repented of their sins and believed the gospel of Christ, have been totally transformed from their old internal relationship as children of the Devil into a glorious and permanent relationship as God's children.

In order to appreciate exactly what John is saying about this, we need to look closer at the wording here. John says "see how great a love the Father has bestowed on us…" This verb, has bestowed, is in the perfect tense in the original. Now in Greek, this perfect tense indicates a past action which has continuing effects into the present. Therefore, we can conclude that the love which Christians have received to be called the Children of God is a past action which continues on to the present.

What is that past action? It is the transformation of our spirits and the reorientation of our natures that God wrought in us when we repented of our sins and received Christ. John 1:12 says "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:" and Ephesians 5:8 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord." You see, we were all children of the Devil and bound to his kingdom, but God actually came and bestowed on us a new and opposite spiritual orientation.

This past action took place because Christ died on the cross to do away with the enmity of hostile humanity and draw all into fellowship and adoption. God has given us that great past redemption worked by Christ on the cross "in order that" we might be called the children of God; for the express purpose of transforming our natures from children of the Devil into children of God. And such we are!

Brothers and sisters, we must not lose sight of the fact that John is talking about more than a title. We are not just children of the devil who have been renamed. If you are a believer today you have had a complete and irreversible change in your spiritual orientation. John is talking about an internal status, about your very nature!

Furthermore, nothing we ever have done could have caused this transformation; it was a free gift of love bestowed on us. Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Remember this: your identity has not been determined by what you do but by what Christ did in you. It is purely the work of God and his grace toward us that transforms us. No works of righteousness could ever have made us children of God, but only God's work of mercy when we lived helpless in our sins. So now, if you are in Christ, you are no longer a sinner but a saint.

"The Son of God became the Son of Man that we, the sons of men might become the children of God." ~Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Our spiritual orientation has been bestowed on us freely by God..

3. Third, our new nature sets us apart from the world.

One other thing that should be noticed from this verse is that John says "the world does not know us." Why? Because we have a new nature and they do not. Did you know that? 2 Peter 1:4 says that we have become partakers of the divine nature. When you, child of God, walk down the street, do you realize that you do not have the same nature as those who walk past you? You are saints and they are sinners.

The world of John's day did not understand why Christians did what they did, or believed what they believed. And the same is true for today. That is because they are still children of the Devil. They are still worldly minded, unenlightened, walking in darkness and lies. They cannot understand what it means that we, their brothers in humanity, do not share in their nature. We are unearthly. And so that is why we see all religions but our own embraced in a pluralistic society. That is why Christians receive the most poignant rejection… because Christians have a totally new nature.

So the next time someone asks you who you are, say to them "I am a child of God!"

Lets move on to the second truth of this text:

II. AS CHILDREN OF GOD, WE WILL BE LIKE CHRIST IN GLORY.

"2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

How can we be sure of our identity? Or rather, can we lose our identity as children of God? After all, I'm sure many of you do not feel like you are God's children, even though you have trusted in the Lord Jesus. Well, allow me to clarify:

1. First, there is a difference between our condition and identity.

At this point, John's readers probably were uncomfortable too. If there is such a huge transformation, if they had the complete opposite natures of those in the world, why was there so much grey territory? Why were there false teachers invading the church, claiming and even appearing to be believers. Why were there carnal Christians like the Corinthians, who did worse things than the pagans?

Well, John does give some room for a middle ground here. He says that it has "not yet appeared what we shall be," indicating that something is incomplete. We know that we, the sons of God, are not yet fully like the Son of God. But he gives this hope: we will be like Christ when we see him.

You see, though we as believers are Children of God, we live in a sinful world that awaits its redemption. Our bodies too wait to be glorified and changed into perfect and incorruptible bodies. We long to be like Christ in our physical natures as we are like him in our spiritual natures, but until that happens we will fight a battle in our mind.

So even though there is no discrepancy between our identity now and in glory, there is a discrepancy between our condition now and in glory. Do not misunderstand me. If you are a believer, you are no less a child of God now than you will be in glory. John told his readers that they are children of God when? Tomorrow? No, now! Your identity remains the same. However, in glory your conformity to that identity will become perfect, you will have a transformed body and live in a transformed world. Right now the glow of our spiritual nature is dulled by the world we live in, and our so our bodies and minds are still subject to the allure of sin.

2. Nevertheless we are guaranteed our complete transformation.

Even though our condition now is flawed, we have a 100% guarantee of our transformation. Listen! Those who are children of God now are those who will be children of God in glory. No exceptions or omissions. And this too is our guarantee, that those who are children of God now will physically see the risen savior in glory and be transformed into his likeness! If you believe, you are gonna be like Christ.

No more toil, no more pain, no more struggle with sin! We will be like Christ and we will see Christ differently than we have ever seen him! No more belief without seeing, but actual seeing of the glory of God! That is what you, as a child of God, have to look forward to. Our glorification is absolutely certain (Rom.8:38-39).

So, I ask my introductory question, who are you? Who are we?

AS BELIEVERS IN CHRIST, WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD… and… AS CHILDREN OF GOD, WE WILL BE LIKE CHRIST IN GLORY.

You are a child of God destined for glory!

Remember this, because probably the greatest failing in the Christian church today is that we do not realize who we are.

With this in mind we can now ask, how should this affect our actions?

Lets look at what John says in the next section:

III. Practicing righteousness is the natural outcome of being a child OF GOD, AND IS THEREFORE EVIDENCE OF IT.

Look as verse 3 "And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

The first truth I want to draw from this passage is that:

1. GOD'S COMMANDMENT TO BE RIGHTEOUS IS BASED ON OUR IDENTITY AS RIGHTEOUS CHILDREN.

This is the key verse to understanding what John will say in the next verses (4-10). Remember, John was writing to assure his readers of their salvation, not to make them feel hopelessly unsaved. But also, he was writing to refute the heresies which said that sin did not matter. So what does John say?

Everyone who believes in Jesus, and knows that they therefore have a transformed nature, and knows that they will one day be fully conformed into the image of Christ; everyone who has that hope… does what? "Purifies himself as he is pure!"

Why? Because we ARE children of God, and therefore we should ACT like children of God. Our mandate to do righteous actions is not so that we will become righteous people but because we are already! Our identity as God's holy ones demands that we then behave like holy ones!

Think of it this way: what bus drivers do? They drive busses right? Ok, what do lion tamers do? They tame lions! And it would be weird if you met bus driver who claimed to be such and never drove a bus! In fact you might be tempted to say he was not a bus driver at all. And if you were not a lion tamer and you tried to tame lions, well, we don’t want to know what would happen.

So, thinking with that logic, what do sinners do? They sin, and we expect them to sin. Rightfully so, because that is why they are called sinners.

Now what do saints do?

You see, God has transformed us from sinners to saints, and now he calls us to live out that transformation. To live with the type of righteousness that Jesus lived by takes our being born again. No one enslaved to the sin nature, no child of the devil, can produce righteousness. Why? Because people are not sinners because they sin, they sin because they are sinners. And similarly, people do not become saints by being righteous, they act righteously because they are saints. And God in His mercy knew that sinful humans cannot become holy on their own, so he makes them holy in Christ and then lets them start from there. Remember, your identity has not been determined by what you do but by what Christ did in you, but further than that, what you do is determined by your identity.

So, if you have been transformed by Christ, you are not a sinner by nature! You just a saint who sins! You are a lion tamer who drives busses. And now God is calling you to conform your actions to your identity. Here is something you might not realize about the Word of God. EVERY APPEAL TO CONDUCT IN THE BIBLE IS MADE ON GROUNDS OF POSITION. Non-Christians are not told to simply do righteously because that is not what they are. They are told to repent. Christians, on the other hand are called to act righteously because they already are Children of God.

GOD'S COMMANDMENT TO BE RIGHTEOUS IS BASED ON OUR IDENTITY AS RIGHTEOUS CHILDREN.

With this in mind, let us consider what John is saying in the remaining verses.

"4 ¶ Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."

These are the verses that make us uncomfortable, because they seem to contradict what he has said before. It looks like John is saying "If you sin, you are obviously not a child of God, so you can forget everything I have just said." But is John really saying that people who are saved will behave perfectly? No, instead he is saying this:

2. OUR IDENTITY AS CHILDREN OF GOD IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH A LIFESTYLE OF SIN.

To understand this we have to ask, what does John mean when he says "sins?" Throughout history there have been several interpretations. Traditional catholic scholars would say that John is referring to the seven deadly sins only. Others held that this refers to purposeful sin.

Once again we need to closer at John's wording in order to understand this verse. This verb, "sin" in this passage appears in the present tense in every occurrence. Now, this is important because in the Greek, the present tense indicates a continuous action. What do I mean by a continuous action? Well, for example, I might say that I jogged to castle park. This is a one time thing, because I haven't jogged there since. However, if I say that I jog to castle park, in the Greek I would be indicating that I am in the habit of exercising. Now don't get me wrong, I by no means jog to castle park. If I were to say that I would be lying, and if I lied I would obviously be a child of the Devil, right? Just kidding.

So, what John is saying here is "those who are born of God do not continue in their habit of sin." If you are reading from the ESV this morning, you have probably the most accurate translation of the nuance in the original language, because your translation says "makes a practice of sinning" in verse 4, 8, and 9 and "keeps on sinning" in verse 6.

Why does John say this? Because, like I have explained earlier, our nature as Children of God conflicts with the nature of sin. If we are children of God, we are called to be righteous, but also our new nature should be constantly moving us away from our formal sinful habits. John points this out in two ways:

First, sin is lawlessness.

"4 ¶ Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him." John identifies what sin is: it is lawlessness. These are interchangeable terms. If you sin, you are violating God's moral law and are thus a moral criminal.

Next he relates this understanding of sin to Christ's work. Jesus came to take away lawless deeds, first by paying for them and then to transform our natures so we would no longer walk in them. He did this because he himself keeps the law of God perfectly and abhors the breaking of it. It is the opposite of him.

And now John makes the logical conclusion: therefore, anybody who has fellowship with Christ, who is a child of God, who has the same nature of Christ, obviously will not continue in a lifestyle of sin. It is not compatible with his nature! If you have God's nature in you, why in the world would you make a pattern in you life of breaking his moral law? That's not like you!

Second, sin is of the Devil and his family.

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

John now classifies sin: sin is of the Devil. It is his family trait, because he is the father of it. That is why children of the Devil sin, because they are sinners just as he is a sinner.

Again he relates this understanding to Christ. Jesus came to eliminate the works of the devil. He came to destroy sin and overthrow the influence of the great Sinner. He came to deplete the family of the Devil through spiritual adoption.

And now John makes the logical conclusion: therefore, anybody who has been removed from the family of the Devil and taken away from his dominion should not continue in the family trait. Its natural! Think about it, if you became a bird tomorrow would you still walk everywhere? No you would fly! You may still walk every once in a while, especially when you are just getting used to your wings, but inevitably you would fly!

In the same way:

OUR IDENTITY AS CHILDREN OF GOD IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH A LIFESTYLE OF SIN.

If we are children of God we will not be able help our transformation. Listen to this quote from John Stott. "Birth of God is a deep, radical, inward transformation. Moreover, the new nature received at new birth remains. It exerts strong internal pressure toward holiness. It is the abiding influence of his seed within everyone who is born of God, which enables John to affirm without contradiction that he cannot go on living in sin."

Our new nature pushes us toward holiness.

Finally, there is a warning in this passage. John was writing to assure them of their salvation, but also to expose those who had false conversions. John warns that:

3. A LACK OF GROWING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND LOVE ARE INDICATORS OF A LACK OF NEW BIRTH.

10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."

John is saying this: If after examining yourself, you realize that you are not walking in the light, if you have made sinning your regular business, you may have not had a change in nature. Even as the false teachers would prove by their lifestyle that they were not the children of God, we may too prove to be false converts. Do not think that if you struggle with sins you are hopelessly lost. That is not what I am saying. But if you claim to know Christ, and yet you have experienced no transformation, and if you do not have that internal pressure toward holiness, if you live in a lifestyle of sin, you need to go before the Lord and ask him to expose the darkness in you and to make you a child of light.

APPLYING THIS TO OUR LIVES.

Well, allow me briefly to bring these high truths down to the world we live in. Brothers and sisters, do you know who you are?

AS BELIEVERS IN CHRIST, WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD… and..

AS CHILDREN OF GOD, WE WILL BE LIKE CHRIST IN GLORY… and… Practicing righteousness is the natural outcome of being a child AND THEREFORE EVIDENCE OF IT.

Are you insecure about who you are, where you are going in life, what your purpose is? I encourage you to embrace who Christ says you are. You are a child of God, and your purpose is to love, worship, and obey the Lord Jesus. That means that whatever station you have in life, whatever career you are in, you have the dignity of being a Child of the Most High God! Students, do not let your professors tell you that you are merely animals, or that you are merely

Are you wrestling with guilt? Do you think you are unacceptable to God because you measure up to his standards? Do you struggle in trying to please him with your righteousness but cannot? I encourage you to change your perspective on being righteous. When you hear in church about being holy or doing good, do not despair but rejoice! You do not have to obey God to be accepted, you get to obey God because you are accepted.

Saints when you face a temptation, whether it is the draw of materialism, or sexual temptation, or bad attitudes, or cheating on your taxes, do you give up and say "I can't help it, I'm a sinner." I encourage you to instead say "No, I will not give in because that is not who I am. I am a saint, and the Devil no longer has dominion over me!"

Finally, have you come here this morning without having trusted Jesus Christ as your savior and now know that you are a child of the Devil? Or have you claimed to be a Christian, but you are living a lifestyle of sin, and there is no indication in your life of a new spiritual nature? Then go before the Lord Jesus and as the Word says "repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Jesus will forgive you sins and place in you a new heart if you will acknowledge you sin and trust in his atonement on the cross.

And I encourage any of you who have been moved by the word of God this morning to talk about it with each other, so we can help build each other up as the children of God. Let's pray.

Sin and Loss

2008-06-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

In C.S. Lewis' novel Perelandra, the second book in his interplanetary series, he describes how Dr. Ransom is conveyed to Venus in order to prevent some scheme of the Bent one (a.k.a. the Devil). It soon becomes clear that the Bent One has possessed another space traveler, Dr. Weston, and means to cause a second fall by causing the Eve of Venus to transgress. Ransom and Weston spend days on end in psychological battle over Eve, and after some time it looks like Ransom is going to lose the fight. As Ransom sits contemplating his next course of action he begins to think that perhaps he was not sent here to prevent the fall, but simply to learn about it through its second occurrence and to bring that wisdom back to men. He begins to think that the fall must happen, and that perhaps it would be better if it did because then God would have another chance to glorify himself as the redeemer; perhaps all worlds must go through a fall. However, this is violently shaken from his mind when he realizes the sinfulness of sin, and when he realizes that the loss of sin is real. All the loss on earth, all the pain and war and sin and destruction and famine, is real loss. A different perspective of God's redemption and sovereignty dawns on him, one where God can and does turn evil to good, but one where original righteousness is better. And with this resolve he decides to fight the schemes of the Bent One with all he can and turns to a fist fight with the possessed Dr. Weston.

I have been thinking about sin. Sometimes I wonder if the Psalms, and especially David, are schizophrenic. For example, in Psalm 101 David goes on and on about his commitment to uprightness and purity. He has fully determined in his mind to walk in perfect wisdom, to have a flawless stance before God. And not only that, he is making sure that anyone working in his palace has the same integrity of life, and are equally as upright. Further, he sets out to kill those who transgress early in the morning. The man sounds like a fanatical Jesuit Monk!

Turn over to Psalm 51, however, and we see a different David. Here he is flat on his face, pleading guilty to the charge of adultery and murder, and instead of praying that someone from his perfectly righteous cabinet would chop off his not so perfect head, he begs for mercy. He asks for a clean heart, he asks for joy (the fact that he is asking surprises me in the first place). And then, even after his heinous crimes he dares to beg God not to take away the Holy Spirit which God had given the king, and which God had taken away from King Saul because of his iniquity.

So what is going on here? And how am I supposed to process this? I sin all the time, consciously and unconsciously. I sinned yesterday in a very conscious way, but I feel like a hypocrite when I try to pray Psalm 51 in light of Psalm 101. By no means have I walked perfectly. By no means do I live up to the standards of 1 John 3. So I ask if I even have the Holy Spirit?! What is prime reality, perfect uprightness or repentance and forgiveness?

Here is all I can think of, and the reason for my inclusion of the story from Lewis. Righteousness is better than forgiveness. It always has been and it always will be. If our father Adam had not transgressed, all the loss in the world would have been gain. Sin is loss, and loss is real. There are consequences to sin, such as the death of David's child through Bathsheba. However, God makes good things come from evil. Even as David prayed in Psalm 51:13-15, his sin was converted into praise to God and instruction to sinners, both good things. God will redeem what has been broken, but even in the midst of his redemption the loss is real. And so, in our hearts we must resolve to live perfectly as David does in Psalm 101. We must strive to minimize loss, to live the best life, the upright life. But when transgression overtakes us, we must seek to live the best we can in those waters, and that is to trust in our atonement and to be cleansed.

Sermon on Psalm 46

2008-05-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

Preached at Renfrew Baptist, East Vancouver, by Joshua Smolders on Sunday the 25th of May, 2008. First full length sermon, first sermon ever preached outside of school context.

INTRODUCTION

I'm sure have all heard of the recent earthquake in the Sichuan province, china. It was one of the worst earthquakes in decades to strike central China. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8, and has reportedly killed nearly 9,000 people, trapped about 900 students under the rubble of their school, and has caused a toxic chemical leak. There are a lot of people whose world has literally been shaken to pieces in China. Most likely some of these people are our Christian brothers and sisters. But it is times like these that reveal who and what people put their trust in. It is times like these that reveal where people find their safety and security.
Well, China seems a far way off, but the reality is not for us here in Vancouver. Seismologists predict that within 50 to 100 years, the lower mainland will be hit with a major earthquake, most likely bigger than the one in central China. And the question is, if and when that time comes, where will our security be found? Where will we flee for refuge?

Turn with me to Psalm 46. This psalm was written for public worship in the temple. As far as we know, it was not written for a particular occasion; in other words, it was not written in response to a specific event of God's victory, but as a general song of praise to God to be sung at events such as the king's return from battle.

The text falls into three natural sections, 1-3, 4-7, and 8-11, which can be clearly seen by the insertion of the word "Selah," which is most likely a call for the congregation to meditate on the previous words. Each of these sections explores a different aspect of the main theme of the Psalm, so I will be preaching three points, each one corresponding to each section.

Now in order to understand the three sections in context, we need to know what the main point, or the overarching theme, of this Psalm is. That theme is found in the refrain, which like the chorus of the song. That refrain is found in verse 1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." And also repeated in a modified form in verses 7 and 11 "The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is out refuge."

From this chorus we can discern the main theme of this Psalm to be "praise God because he is our ever-present, sovereign protector." As we go through the psalm this idea will be expanded on.

Well, let's look at the first truth contained within this Psalm, in verses 1-3.

I. God is an ever present shelter from the calamity of the world(v.1-3).

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling."

The first section of this Psalm begins with the refrain: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

Now, this version of the refrain differs from the other two, and it uses a different word for "refuge." The Psalmist has chosen his words carefully so as to emphasize that he is talking about physical catastrophes. You see, the word for "refuge" is the word machaseh, which gives the idea of a shelter, a place of protection from the elements around. Its modern equivalent would be a like a storm shelter, where people hide from tornadoes and hurricanes. Or it would be like a safe place, like a cave or valley that shields you from the harsh weather.

However, it is often translated and carries the idea of "trust," such as in Psalm 5:11 which says "let all who trust in you be glad," and in Psalm 11:1, which says "In the Lord I put my trust; How can you say to my soul "flee to the mountains?" So this word gives the idea of a place that is trusted to protect from calamity.

On the other hand, the word "strength" gives the idea of power, boldness, and might. It is the stamina to keep going, to hold on, but even more it is the power to make gains. If our refuge is where we hide, our strength is where we push forward.

So God was Israel's defense and offence, and then the parallel line says he is a "A very present help in trouble." God was not afar off, he was not a distant strength, or a shelter out of reach. God was present with Israel always, like a personal force-shield that surrounded them. Wow, what an amazing testimony! The psalmist was saying with Israel, "we do not trust in mountains, we do not trust in shelters, we trust in the Lord! When there is trouble on the earth, we do not flee to our shelters, we stand firm in the strength of the Lord and face the trouble! We do not need to run to shelter because the Lord is present with us."

In verses 2 and 3, the Psalmist moves on to describe Israel's response of fearlessness in the face of disaster. "Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling." The language he is using here is obviously exaggerated. It is meant to portray the complete overturn of the world: He describes how the land would fall away, and the mountains would be thrown into the sea, and then how the sea would boil and churn and shake the earth. In Hebrew culture the mountains were a place of security and peace, and the sea was a place of danger and chaos. So in essence, the scene portrayed here is when all places of shelter become places of danger, and when all peace is thrown into chaos. And what does the Psalmist say? Even then he will not fear!

So what does this section say to us as Christians? We are the people of God as well, so these truths apply to us. We can say, then, that God is our shelter in times of calamity, and he is our strength to press through them, and as a church body and as individuals we do not need to live in fear of calamity.

We can say that we do not fear that an earthquake might hit Vancouver, and we do not fear fires or floods or hurricanes or tsunamis. Not because they will not come, but because when they do, God is ever present with us, helping us, protecting us and strengthening us to work through it.

I think of the country of Mayanmar right now. As you know, it was recently hit with a terrible hurricane. 120 mile and hour winds and a 12 foot storm surge utterly destroyed villages, killing possible hundreds of thousands of people. And what is worse is that the government is not letting supplies be distributed to those in need. But there is hope in this disaster. I learned from Gospel For Asia, that as we speak there are indigenous Christians in Mayanmar who, instead of fleeing in fear, have trusted in God for their refuge and strength. And they are now distributing relief where the UN could not, and they are helping the survivors rebuild.

"Praise God because he is our ever-present sovereign protector! Therefore we will not fear any calamity."

The second truth found in our text comes in verses 4-7.

II. God's kingdom in this world is unshakable (4-7)

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her when day breaks. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts."

In the next section of this Psalm, the author turns from looking at the calamity of the world, and focuses on the city of God, Jerusalem. In verse 4 we read "there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the habitation of the Most High." The author here is contrasting the tumult of the mountains and the chaos of the waves with this peaceful river. The "river" and "streams" here are actually symbols of God's favor, and the "city of God" is Jerusalem. In order to understand these words, you have to remember that this was written during the theocracy of Israel, the time when God's people were comprised of a physical and political nation, over which God ruled by the king and high priest. Jerusalem was the capital city of this nation, and it represented the heart of the kingdom. If Jerusalem fell, Israel fell. But also, Jerusalem contained the temple of Solomon, where the glory of God resided, behind the veil in the Holy of Holies. From the day of Solomon's dedication to the vision of Ezekiel during the Babylonian invasion hundreds of years later, the temple was actually occupied by the presence of God. And so the Psalmist calls its here "the habitation of the Most High." This verse then, is describing the peace and happiness that came from God's constant presence and favor on the city.

In verse 5 he moves on to say "God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her when day breaks." For the Israelites, Jerusalem was God's dwelling place on earth, and therefore it was unconquerable. How could an enemy ever defeat a city that had God inside it defending it? It was impossible! Never in all eternity would this city be overthrown. Now I do not know about you, but if I were living in the same city where God was living, I would be pretty happy and feel pretty secure. And so Israel was confident that their city was immovable! The words about God's help coming at dawn are a metaphor of how after a long night of danger God would come as faithfully as the dawn to rescue the city.

So, in verse 4 and 5 we have the peace and security of Jerusalem, but moving on to verse 6 there is a total contrast. "The nations rage, the kingdoms totter." Unlike Israel and Jerusalem, the nations and kingdoms around were raging and tottering. Now, you have to understand that when this was written, the Psalmist knew that Israel had been surrounded by the great powers of the world for its entire history: The Hittites, the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Ethiopians, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia; nations that were far bigger and far more powerful than puny little Israel. These nations served hundreds of different gods, and fought war after war after war with each other. But each of them rose up against each other only to come crashing down. Their gods were no help, there power dissolved. Only one nation stood firm, and that was the nation of the Most High God.

Then, very simply, the Psalmist illustrates how powerful that God is: "he utters his voice and the earth melts." This is a bold contrast! When every other nation rages, or shouts aloud, its destiny is to crumble and fall. But when the God who lived in Jerusalem merely uttered his voice, then the whole earth fell away before him! Jerusalem was totally secure, and therefore any citizen of Jerusalem could be totally confident in its refuge. And so in verse 7 the congregation praises God for being that strong refuge.

An amazing illustration of this is found in Isaiah 36 and 37. This is the account of how Sennacharib, the King of Assyria, came up and laid siege on Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah. All of Israel had been overrun by Assyria, and only Jerusalem remained. Before attacking the city one of the Assyrian king's generals came to the wall of the city and spoke pompously against it. He said "18 ‘Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, "The LORD will deliver us." Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 ‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 20 ‘Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’" 21 But they held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, "Do not answer him."

In the next chapter we see Hezekiah falling down on his knees and tearing his clothes. Where? In the house of God! Later, when the king of Assyria sends a letter of condemnation to Hezekiah, he rushes into the temple again and lays it before God and prays "O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 "Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 18 "Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, 19 "and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands––wood and stone. Therefore they have destroyed them. 20 "Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, You alone."

God heard the prayer of Hezekiah, and the Lord responds through the prophet Isaiah. Listen to his words in verses 33-36 of Isaiah 37, "Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. 34 By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,’ Says the LORD. 35 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’" 36 Then the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty–five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses––all dead."

God's kingdom in this world is unshakable. Can you see why the Psalmist could praise God for the amazing peace and security there was in Jerusalem?

Now, how do these verses relate to us as Christians in the 21st century? Hopefully you are not quite content with what I have just said about Jerusalem being such a secure place. There should be something at the back of your mind that is bothering you. You should be asking "how can this be true if Jerusalem eventually did fall?" But also you should be asking "if this applies to us now, where is our Jerusalem, where is our city of security?"

Well, I have two answers to that question:

First, it was the only presence of God that made the physical city a refuge. This is revealed in verse 7. Here the Psalmist repeats the idea in verse 1, only he rewords it to fit the context. "The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge." The title that God is given here, "Lord of Hosts," literally means "God of armies." And the word that is used for "refuge" here is different than the word used in verse one. The Hebrew word is misgawb, which refers to a high tower against enemy forces, not a shelter from rain. Many of your translations will read "stronghold" or "fortress." Now notice that the Psalmist does not say that Jerusalem is their fortress, but rather God himself. That is because without the presence of the Lord in it, Jerusalem was nothing. It was the sovereign God of armies that kept the armies of foreign nations at bay. God was the real refuge, and what mattered was that God had pledged to protect Israel. In the account of Hezzekiah which I read part of, God makes it clear that he rescues Jerusalem because that city and the people in it were inseparably tied to his name. Listen, God says "For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake."

So the reason why Jerusalem is not our fortess any longer is because it never was the real fortress. God was the real fortress within the fortress. Since the glory of God departed from the temple, there is nothing special about that city. It is no longer where the presence of the Lord resides.

My second answer is this, Our real refuge is in the real city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You know, there is a lie which the Devil has been circulating and which most of us have bought into. The lie is that this material world is all there is, or that at least it is the more important than the spiritual realm. But if you have studied the book of Hebrews you will know the truth that the spiritual realm is just as real as the physical realm which we see. In fact, it is the spiritual realm where things really count, where reality is shaped. The temple on earth is just a shadow of the temple in heaven, and also the Jerusalem that was on earth was just a shadow of the one in heaven. Let me read to you from Hebrews chapter 12:22-29, "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven." 27 Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire."

Think about those two answers for a minute. If you have put your trust in Jesus Christ, the God of Jacob, then you are a citizen who lives in the unshakable heavenly kingdom. Your fortress is God, your fortress is the heavenly Jerusalem. Is this church, Renfrew Baptist, serving the living God? Then it is a mighty fortress, because God is with it! Brothers and sisters, if you think that the kingdom of Israel was something, then just look at the church! It is a kingdom that has stood firm for over 2000 years. Jesus taught very clearly that the kingdom of God no longer is relegated to a physical land, but it is in the hearts of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Because of Jesus Christ we are citizens of a kingdom that will never collapse even when all the nations of the world collapse! Even when Canada collapses, you will not be part of that nation because you are part of the kingdom that remains. And this kingdom is a kingdom of the Spiritual realm, and is therefore far more real than all the geo-political nations that our world is made up of.

Don’t be deceived, the countries of this world are temporal and will all fall. The USA and Canada have been around for a relatively short time on the scale of history, and many nations that lasted for hundreds and hundreds of years before us have collapsed. This city, Vancouver, has a lot of people and has become very successful, but it will one day come tumbling down. So what kingdom are we working for as the church? What is your refuge, and whose kingdom are you investing in, Canada or the Kingdom of Heaven?

Think about this too, where is the presence of God in the world now? Is it not in your hearts, where the Holy Spirit dwells? What an amazing privilege, and what an amazing truth! As Jerusalem was protected and favored by the presence of God, we as the body of believers in Christ are now the temple of the Holy Spirit! For Israel, ever-present meant always in the temple, for us it means always with us empowering us. Like Hezekiah, we can come seek the Lord's help, but we can access the temple anytime and anywhere! If you are a believer today, God dwells in you!

"Praise God because he is our ever-present sovereign protector!"

The third truth that this psalm presents is found in 8-11.

III. God is our present peace in chaos because of his future exaltation. (8-11)

If I were to summarize the message of this section in two words it would be this: God wins!

"Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire."

Did you know that Israel is the one nation that could say to other nations "remember what our God, Jehovah, did? Remember when he parted the red sea and made the sun stop." If you look into ancient literature you will find a very interesting thing. When you compare Hebrew praise psalms to all forms of pagan praise psalms, the Hebrews have a distinct feature. You see the pagans would often write songs praising Ra or praising Baal for being their god, but their content was quite empty. Maybe they would talk about how the sun-god faithfully rises and sets, or maybe they would praise their war-god for some victory in battle which their king accomplished. But there were no accounts of divine intervention.

Yet Hebrew praise psalms are marked by the very opposite attribute: God is praised for his specific acts in history. They could say "hey you, look at what our God does" and then point to his miraculous intervention on behalf of Israel. The Hebrews could name the things that God had specifically done for them, totally apart from their power. You see, the power of the pagan gods was limited to the success of their kings, but Jehovah's power works beyond that of his people. He is sovereign over all creation, over every nation, and ultimately over history. Look how the Psalmist writes that "He makes wars cease to the end of the earth." There is a sense where God does not just determine the wars in Israel, but in all the world. God expands beyond the reach of his people. So you can see how this verse contains an element of beholding the past works of the Lord.

But it also has an element of looking forward to that day when He will cause all wars to cease. Israel not only could see the past works of God, but they experienced his ever present help and protection, as we have seen throughout this psalm, and they then expected his continuing deeds in the future.

God still works today, brothers and sisters. Israel is our spiritual heritage, and so we can look back to the mighty things that God did for Israel, and for the New Testament believers, and for all Christians in the past 2000 years, and say "Behold the works of the Lord." And we can look around us today and see the awesome work of God in the world. Look at China, for example, and how out of persecution and oppression God is raising up the largest national church that has ever existed. Nearly 10,000 people in that country are coming to the Lord every day, in spite of harsh persecution from the government. Our God is living and active in our world.

Yet there is still something missing. God has not caused all wars to cease yet, and when one war stops another will start. God works miraculously through disasters, but our world seems more and more filled with them every day. Jesus himself even says that wars and disasters will increase on the earth until the end.

And so we come to the climax of the Psalm. In the midst of all this chaos, of waves crashing and mountains being thrown into the sea; of nations raging and tottering, of wars and desolation; the pandemonium of the world grows louder and louder; and in the midst of this chaos God speaks: "BE STILL!…BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD, I WILL BE EXALTED AMONG THE NATIONS, I WILL BE EXALTED IN ALL THE EARTH."

Be still. Does he say this to us? Does he say this to Israel? Does he say this to the chaotic world? I think the answer is that he says this to everyone. God demands the whole world to cease its striving and acknowledge him as God.

Now look at God's reason for commanding us to be still: It His the future exaltation! This is the lesson we can learn: God is our present peace in chaos because of his future exaltation. Is the world falling apart because of earthquakes and famines and floods? Are the nations warring with each other, or exalting themselves above God, or committing atrocities? Know this, on that great day of judgment every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and He will be exalted! God wins! And then, for eternity he will live on the New Earth where there will be perfect peace, and where every nation will love and serve him.

Brothers and sisters, there is a sense where God is our protector from disasters and our unshakable kingdom in the present, but it is incomplete. We are receiving a kingdom, which means it has not come in full yet. It is now and not yet. We are not immune to the troubles of this world. But our confidence is that one day all these troubles will end, and we will be ushered into a new and perfect earth without tears and without danger. But until then we can be still and confident in the sovereignty of our God, and that He will shortly be exalted over all the troubles of this present world.

"Praise God because he is our ever-present sovereign protector. And he wins."

APPLICATION:

Well, in closing I want to ask four questions of you:

1. Are you trusting in the peace of your world, or are you trusting in God as your refuge?

2. Are you living in the reality that God is with you and you are part of an unshakable kingdom?

3. Are you living in the lie that this material world is what is important, or are you living in the truth that it is the spiritual kingdom that matters?

o Consider what you are spending your time on.

o Consider what you are spending your money on.

o Consider where your thought life is focused.

4. Finally, are you living in the peace of the future exaltation of Jesus Christ?

o When God wins, will you be found on his side?

o If you will, then are you living like a defeated Christian or like one who has guaranteed victory?

This Psalm ends with a repetition of the refrain: "The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress." So lets respond to God in like manner by singing "A Mighty Fortress is our God." And then I will pray.

My Commencement Speech

2008-05-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am with my own blog. I never thought I would see the day. But alas, the pressures of this world and the pride of my personal word, and the allure of intellectual fellowship was too strong.

... Now I just have to figure out how to upload pictures.

Zeitete de proton ten Basilean tou theou kai dukaiosunen autou.